The Mac mini has always been Apple’s most flexible desktop computer. Sure, most people go for the traditional experience and plug in a display, mouse, and keyboard — but you can also have it serve as a home theater PC, or put it to work with professional photo or audio editing, or turn a group of...

Blazing performance; Existing apps run very well on M1 chip; Appealing price for the power it offers; Now with Wi-Fi 6

Fewer USB-C ports than Intel model; Unified memory tops out at 16GB; Doesn’t support external GPUs; Truly awful speaker

Don't let the Mac Mini's size fool you, this tiny desktop has the heart of a lion.

Small; Powerful; Upgradable

Can get expensive; Poor graphics processing

Holy moley! The Apple Mac mini with M1 processor is cheaper, faster, and keeps everything we loved about the Mac mini while changing up both the internals and where Apple sits in the larger industry. That's a lot to live up to, but the M1 Mac mini does it with grace and style.

Seriously fast performance, Seamless support for most software, More affordable than ever before

No aftermarket upgrades, Fewer Thunderbolt 3 ports, A few minor hiccups with compatibility and features

With a new lower starting price and Apple's straining-at-the-leash M1 CPU, the Mac mini is far and away the most polished, potent tiny desktop in its class.

New; lower starting price; Much improved overall performance from 2018 model; Especially promising bench results with native "Universal" apps; Surprisingly quiet and cool operation under load

Boosting RAM and SSD capacity at purchase time is pricey; Fewer Thunderbolt ports than previous Mac mini; Memory no longer upgradable post-purchase

“The Mac Mini M1 resets expectations for just how fast a small, affordable desktop can be.”

Blistering CPU performance; Incredibly fast SSDs; Superb value; Compact; sturdy design; MacOS Big Sur is great

Subpar gaming performance

Over the years, it has sometimes seemed that Apple didn't really know what to do with the Mac Mini . Having outlived its usefulness as a 'low-cost Mac' in the Steve Jobs era, Apple has made tentative attempts in recent years to reposition the Mac Mini as a kind of entry-level server and, more...

Affordable; M1 processor delivers a big performance boost; Ultra-compact design; Runs cool and quiet

RAM and storage purchase-time upgrades are expensive; No user-installable RAM or storage upgrades; No discrete or external GPU options

This miniature desktop might be small, but it's still mighty thanks to the M1 chipset. It's not for everyone, however, especially if you've invested in a lot of apps not yet optimised for M1 support.

M1 optimised apps are ridiculously quick, Fans rarely heard, Most affordable Mac, Doesn't take up a lot of space, Supports up to 6K monitors, Rosetta works well for non-optimised apps

Needs more ports, No SD card reader, Supports maximum of two monitors, Not all apps are M1 optimised yet

Windows PC fans will rightly point out that you probably won’t want to game on an M1 Mac mini, despite its proven talents. And if you can wait for HP to release a Ryzen 4000 version of the EliteDesk 705 then you can expect similar levels of performance at the expense of fan noise (and a rather less...

Fantastic performance Compact footprint Strong connectivity

No upgradeability

The Mac mini (M1, 2020) updates Apple's cult Mac with its latest M1 hardware. For many people, this is exciting, as it means the Mac mini no longer feels like it's being neglected by Apple; however, it does come with a few compromises that not everyone will like.

Same lovely design; Very good performance; New M1 hardware has potential

Can't use eGPUs; Maximum of 16GB memory

The Mac mini is popular because it’s Apple most affordable desktop Mac, and also because its size gives it versatility, making it a good machine to use in a variety of situations. But it was to the low tier of the Mac lineup when it came to performance.

Tremendous speed at a bargain price; Compact design makes it ideal for any situation; Tremendous speed at a bargain price; Compact design makes it ideal for any situation

Limited display support; Two Thunderbolt ports; Limited display support; Two Thunderbolt ports